Recent California Supreme Court Decision Continues Trend Toward Greater Certainty and Lower Amounts in Punitive Damage Awards

California Business Litigation Update

Late last year, the California Supreme Court decided Roby v. McKesson Corporation. One of the central holdings of Roby was that, on its specific facts, the constitutional maximum for a punitive damages award in the discrimination and harassment case consisted of a 1:1 ratio between compensatory and punitive damages. As a result, a jury award of $15 million in punitive damages ultimately was rolled back to just over $1.9 million.